Your'e missing another category:
6) Those who haven't heard it, but aren't willing to buy into all of the excitement, because they've been doing this long enough to have seen the same thing over and over again. First when SS first arrived, followed by CD, followed by - well you get the picture. Give it time and let's see how things hold up.
Oh, and regarding designer comments: Most designers would like to sell products in Europe. Given the push for "green technologies" over there, is it any wonder that they talk positively about class D?
Well stated. Very adroit points made.
Look at how long it took solid state to “come of age” as it were. Most folks point to the release of the Threshold 400A as the first solid state amp that did not offend the masses.
Personally, I remain a “Class A” supporter. The XA series from Nelson Pass are as good as it gets (IMHO). They simply do less signal manipulation than any other amp class (They also are the least efficient, for the same reason). There are a lot wonderful sounding tube amps as well.
Perhaps Class D has caught up with the Ncore (I do not know). I’m about to try a low powered class D amp to see how it measures up. I have owned a number of class D amps along the way (including Rowland), and have not heard one yet that did not suffer from one or more shortfalls. Truth be told, ALL gear has some shortfalls from live music, but the class D amps I’ve heard to date had too many shortfalls. Given Bruno’s extensive technical prowess, those may indeed have been successfully addressed to the point that they are not audible. Given how class D works, it’s not easy to achieve, and arguably more difficult that getting class A to sound right.
